EARBUDS
by LiveEatBreatheWrite
Summary: Dan Howell and Carl Grimes have been sent to Camp Bear Hood by their parents. There, they make new friends... and possibly new enemies.


**Hello fellow people of the interwebz. This is a One-Shot... unless you want me to expand on it. This is a Post ZA AU, and Carl meets a girl on a plane. I sorta kinda got this idea from an episode of ****_Supernatural. _****Loosely. Anywhoooo, gracias for reading! Review and let me know what you thaaaank :)**

**~A.C~**

I was shuffling down the aisle, keeping an eye out for my seat. When I found it, I saw that I wasn't going to be sat next to some creepy old guy. That's normally what happened when I flew anywhere. And I had only flown three other times in my life, not including this one. I sat in the aisle seat, a space in between me and the brunette girl with her headphones in. She was staring out the small airplane window, bopping her head to the invisible beat of an unknown song. I focused on my destroyed fingernails, bitten down to the cuticle. I tried to bite it smaller still, small stings erupting from my damaged finger. Then, the plane started whirring. My hand left my mouth and gripped the armrest tightly. God, I've always hated flying. The planes always made these terrifying noises and the changes in altitude always made my stomach churn. The aircraft lurched forward, me making a small noise of terror.

Jesus Christ, Carl! You've survived the fucking apocalypse! You have laughed in the face of danger, sneered at the threat of death. You've taken your own mother's life, and you can't even fly on an airplane. Pull yourself together!

Suddenly, I felt a soft hand on my shoulder. The girl must've noticed my discomfort, because she looked at me with blue, compassionate eyes.

"Are you alright?"

"Fantastic," I replied sarcastically.

"Yeah, alright. Nervous flyer?"

"Kind of."

"Ah. You know what makes me feel better when I'm nervous?"

Her blue eyes looked at me expectantly, obviously waiting for an answer.

"Hmm?"

"Music. Want to listen?"

She held an earbud in her hand, offering it to me. I took it gingerly and put it in my ear. She handed me her small i-Pod and gave me the freedom to choose the song. I found some actual music there; nothing like the crappy pop most girls listened to. I chose one of my favorites from Panic! At The Disco, I Write Sins, Not Tragedies. We sat in silence, listening to the energetic song.

Once the last note rang out, she took her blue i-Pod from me and scrolled through the playlist. She found a song, but fast-forwarded it so that less than half of the song was left. The male singer took a deep breath and let out the first note. I recognized the song instantly. Parting Glass. The words flowed clearly into my ears, reminding me of Beth. Suddenly, I wasn't on the plane anymore. I was at the bonfire again, listening to Beth and Maggie sing. The English singer's voice was replaced by Beth's.

Then, the bonfire left and was replaced by the prisonyard. Beth held a pistol, her finger placed carefully on the trigger. It was pointed at the forest, where a man was lurking. He obviously intended to take the prison. Everything was in slow motion. Beth's finger started to tighten around the deadly trigger, but a bang interrupted her. An expertly aimed bullet struck Beth right between the eyes. Her eyes rolled back as she fell. The gun clattered to the ground, her limp body following right behind it.

Then, I was right above her. Her blonde hair was in a fan around her pale, bloodied face. Her clothing was stained with red, and so was the concrete around her. A crimson bullet rested a couple feet from her head. Her death sentence. I remember what was left of my heart being torn out of my chest that day. I remember that the cure was found a week after her death. A week. She made it so far…

I felt a delicate touch on my shoulder and I was brought back to the plane. The song was long over, and the brunette looked at me with those pretty blue eyes.

"Who's Beth?" she asked carefully.

"An old friend."

"Is she alright?"

"…No."

"Dead?"

"…Yes."

"Man or walker?"

This question shocked me a little. It's hard to remember that someone other than me and the group had to experience this.

"Man."

"My family went down that way."

I looked up at her and found that she had tears in her eyes.

"It was before the Apocalypse even."

"Were you alone when it started?" I asked.

Tears were steadily streaming down her face, staining her once happy expression.

"No. My brother was with me. He took care of me after it happened. In a way, I'm glad they didn't have to experience it."

I wanted to comfort her, but there was one problem. Well, two. One, I don't know how. Two, I don't know her name. Well, Carl, one problem at a time.

"What's your name?"

"Rosalie. Needless to say, Twilight ruined my life."

I laughed at her joke. I remembered the first movie coming out. The dumb sparkly vampire's sister or something was named Rosalie, I remember.

"You think you've got it bad? My parent's named me Carl."

She giggled, and her sad tears stopped coming.

"I guess we can get made fun of together."

"So, Rosalie, what brings you to Texas?"

"This self-defense camp that my brother wants me to go to."

"Camp Bear Hood?"

"That's the one."

"Well, I guess we'll be seeing each other then," I said happily.

"Really? Your parents ship you off here?"

"Yeah, my dad. You probably know him. Rick Grimes?"

"Rick Grimes… as in Rick Grimes: Expert in Combat and Weaponry?"

"That's the one."

"You're _his _son?"

"Uh huh."

"That is so awesome! Your father is idolized by the entirety of humanity!"

"I know."

"He's one of the founders of the A.C.T! If your father is Rick Grimes… then… YOU KNOW DARYL DIXON!"

"I do. He's a cool guy."

"A _cool guy? _He's more than just a cool guy. He's the best strategist in the entire Program!"

"Yep."

"Holy cow. I'm sitting next to a celebrity."

"I'm hardly a _celebrity." _

"Whatever. So, your father sent you to Camp Bear Hood to learn self-defense techniques. Why doesn't he teach you himself?"

"Doesn't have time."

"Right."

"I actually know the counselors. They trained with Dad for a while."

"Cool. So, you're close with all of the founding members of the Apocalyptic Control Tactic. Rick Grimes, Daryl Dixon, Glenn Rhee, Maggie Rhee, and Michonne Gurria?"

"Yep."

"…Beth is Maggie's sister, isn't she?"

"Yeah. That's what inspired Maggie to help the team find a cure."

"Wow. That's… just wow."

"It is pretty awesome. They have taught me a lot."

The intercom crackled, meaning that the pilot was about to say something.

_Hello. This is your Captain speaking. We will be making our descent into Love Field shortly. You will notice that the seatbelt lights above you have been turned back on, so please, stay seated and buckled. Thanks for flying with us, and we hope to see you soon._

Oh, good. My favorite part. Rosalie's hand wrapped around my trembling ones, and she squeezed them. She smiled at me, reassuring me that everything would be ok.

"Rose… can I call you Rose? I refuse to call you Rosalie because Twilight is horrendous."

"Rose is fine. What were you going to say?"

"Rose, thanks," I said uncomfortably.

"…for what?"

"You comforted a complete stranger. People don't really do that."

"Well, you looked friendly enough. And you looked terrified."

"I suppose so. But, thanks anyway."

"No biggie."

The plane began its descent then, and Rose put her music back on. It was New Perspective by Panic! At The Disco. I could tell they were one of her favorites. The upbeat song made me feel a little better, but it didn't successfully distract me from the fact the plane was making strange noises and dropping faster and faster.

Sooner or later, we landed on the ground. The road was very bumpy, and I could feel the Texas heat through the plane. This camp is gonna be real fun. The plane slowed to a halt and people started to exit. Rose and I were one of the last to leave. We walked through the gate and we were met by a sea of people. I could feel Rose tense up next to me. I looked over to find her pale and trembling.

"Are you alright? You look terrified," I asked.

"Don't like crowds."

I simply grabbed her hand walked next to her, saying reassuring words to her softly and calming her shaking hands.

And for the first time in a long time, I felt whole.

**Thanks for making it through the whole thing! Let me know if it was a) astoundingly awful b) mediocre or c) fan-freaking-tastic!**

**~A.C~**


End file.
